The prize-winners of the 3rd KWUCHAMP will get the medals of malachite and serpentine gemstones

The official medals of the World Championship,

which will be held in the Urals capital for the first time on December 9-10, 2017, were presented in Ekaterinburg

“Winners and prize-winners of the World Championship will get 60 such unique medals: 15 gold, 15 silver and 30 bronze medals, because fights for third place in Kyokushin competitions are not held,” said Sergei Suvorov, Secretary General of the Kyokushin World Union. “Awards were made here in Sverdlovsk region, in the work were used those minerals that have always been associated with the Urals, in particular, with the Sverdlovsk region – malachite and serpentine gemstones. First place winners will get malachite awards, holders of second and third places – medals made of serpentine. The weight of each is 162 grams; on the reverse side, we can see the symbol of Kyokushinkai.

Initially, the tournament was planned to be held in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, however, due to various reasons, it was decided to transfer the World Championship to Russia. In April of this year, a special commission was created, which was charged to determine the host city of the forthcoming World Championship. When selection criteria were defined, the six Russian cities were under the proper examination and Ekaterinburg ideally suited to all conditions. Infrastructure, support of the local authorities and a good sports arena – all these factors met in the Urals capital.

“It is very important for the Sverdlovsk region to hold such big international tournaments,” said Yakov Petrov, Deputy Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of the Sverdlovsk region. “Our region has a lot of experience in this field, for example, in 2015 we held a youth handball World Championship, as well as the European Table Tennis Championship. Annually about 30 international tournaments in various sports are held in the Sverdlovsk region. As for the Kyokushin World Championship, for us this is a great event, and we expect the arrival of about 300 participants from 50 countries. This is quite an interesting and dynamic sport and I think that after the world championship interest to it will significantly grow”.

It is expected that the World Championship will be held in a highly competitive environment. According to words of the head coach of the Russian national team, the honoured coach of Russia Andrei Bura, Kyokushin is the kind of sport where no predictions work.

– At the previous KWU World Championship that was held in Khabarovsk in 2015, – recalls Andrei Bura, – none of the athletes, whom we predicted victory, won. As for the preparation of the national team, it is in full swing, and all of the fighters are trained in accordance with the plan. During these two years that passed after the previous World Championship, our team was updated for about 80%. The competition for the right to represent our country at the national world championship was very high, so with firm certainty it can be said that the best fighters occupied the places in the national team.

Among them is the 19-year-old winner of the Kyokushin World Youth Championship – Ivan Tumashev.

– Participation in the World Championship 2017 was my dream since the childhood, – said Ivan Tumashev, – For me, this is a very important event, while I do not know yet with whom I will have to fight, for me every battle will be important. Now I try not to aggravate the situation, although I understand the whole responsibility to my parents, to the coaches, to all those who helped me on my way. First of all, I feel the responsibility to my country, because at the World Championship I will represent Russia.

By the way, from October 1, the sale of tickets for the World Championship 2017 started. The minimum cost for a ticket is 500 roubles; you can buy them on the websites.